


Fine Again

by EllieL



Category: Gone With the Wind - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-12
Updated: 2006-06-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 15:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16977522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieL/pseuds/EllieL
Summary: Another approach to what might have happened following Scarlett’s sudden self-enlightenment immediately after Melanie’s death.





	Fine Again

  
****  
 _The carriage rocked to a standstill in front of the flat little house_  
 _and Rhett handed her out, trembling, frightened, a sudden feeling_  
 _of loneliness upon her, she clasped his arm._  
  
 _"You’re coming in, Rhett?"_  
  
 _"No," he said and got back into the carriage._  
  
****  
  
 _She patted Aunt Pitty and went swiftly by her to the front door,_  
 _knowing if she stayed in this room another minute, her control_  
 _would crack. She had to be alone. And she had to cry or her_  
 _heart would break._  
  
 _She stepped onto the dark porch and closed the door behind her_  
 _and the moist night air was cool upon her face. The rain had_  
 _ceased and there was no sound except for the occasional drip of_  
 _water from the eaves. The world was wrapped in a thick mist, a_  
 _faintly chill mist that bore on its breath the smell of a dying year._  
 _All the houses across the street were dark except one, the light_  
 _from a lamp in the window, falling into the street, struggled_  
 _feebly with the fog, golden particles floating in its rays. It was as_  
 _if the whole world were enveloped in an unmoving blanket of_  
 _gray smoke. And the whole world was still._  
  
****  
  
Scarlett rested her forehead against one of the pillars of the   
porch, feeling tears building, burning behind her eyes, when a   
faintly different ribbon of gray against the mist caught in her   
peripheral vision. Silently, she turned, resting her cheek against   
the weathered wood, and saw for the first time the barely visible   
silhouette of Rhett at the far end of the porch, facing away from   
her, smoke from his cigar wafting up to blend into the thick mist.  
  
Wordlessly, she moved to sit next to him and rest her cheek on   
the soft shoulder of his fine suit. Only then did the tears begin   
to stream down her face. Rhett didn’t move, merely continued to   
puff occasionally on the cigar as an afterthought.  
  
"She’s dead, then." It sounded obscenely loud, unduly harsh in   
the dark silence of early morning, and even more so for the utter   
lack of inflection in his voice.  
  
With a sniffle and a stifled sob, she nodded against his shoulder,   
not trusting her voice, not even certain she could summon it. Her   
movement also brought her incrementally closer to Rhett, and in   
that moment she realized that this is where she wanted to be,   
where she needed to be. Her only hope was that Melanie had   
been right, that Rhett truly did love her, because right now, he   
was the only thing she knew she needed, or wanted.  
  
"God rest her. A truly great lady." Rhett lowered his gaze and   
tossed the stub of his cigar away, the faint red ember   
disappearing into the darkness.  
  
A sad, awkward silence reigned as Scarlett tried to gather her   
thoughts and her voice. "Thank you for staying," tumbled first   
from her lips, startling even her.  
  
Rhett appeared taken by surprise as well, turning to face her, in   
the process forcing her to sit upright and face him. She’d never   
been able to read his face well, and it was impossible for her in   
this murky chiaroscuro. Choking back a sob, words fell   
unbidden from her lips. "I need you now." She bit her lip to   
keep from saying more, and looked down into the shadowy yard,   
tears continuing down her face.  
  
For a moment, she thought that her words had been ensnared in   
the heavy mist, hadn’t made their way to Rhett’s ears. She was   
almost grateful, almost wished she could take them back if the   
night hadn’t done so. This conversation, she knew, was more   
than she could handle tonight. This morning? She was no   
longer sure, the hours having blended together and added to her   
confusion.   
  
Then he spoke, his voice as gentle as the hand that came to rest   
on her shoulder. "I know, Scarlett, I know. Let’s go home   
now."  
  
He helped her stand, his arm wrapping around her shivering   
frame. It was the first time in her recent memory that she wanted   
to be closer to him, nearly wrapped her own arms around him,   
trying to find some comfort in this cold, confusing darkness.  
  
Overwrought, she could only stare mutely out the carriage   
window as they made their way home through empty streets, the   
rhythmic staccato of the horses’ hooves fading eerily into the   
heavy silence. When they reached home, she allowed Rhett to   
help her inside like an exhausted child, and it was only when they   
paused at the front door that she took note of his face. In the   
growing golden light radiating from inside the house, she could   
see the weariness and strain writ clear. She could feel Rhett   
jump minutely when she reached up and traced a hand across his   
whiskered cheek and the tender, dark skin under his eyes.  
  
"You…" she couldn’t find the words, couldn’t identify the   
sentiment she wanted, even in her own mind. She only knew that   
he needed something, as badly as she needed his kindness now.  
  
"We’ll both feel better after a good rest," Rhett recovered   
smoothly. "Tomorrow, we can talk."  
  
No more words were exchanged as they entered the house and   
made their way to their respective bedrooms.  
  
****  
  
It was still dark when Scarlett startled awake from a fitful   
slumber, heart racing and near tears. For a moment, she was   
unsure where she was, and then the events of the prior evening   
came tumbling back to her consciousness.  
  
On unsteady legs, without a wrapper, her footsteps fell silently   
on the hallway carpet as she made her way to Rhett’s door.   
Scarlett didn’t know what she was doing, only that she was   
troubled and wanted Rhett. She rapped softly, threatening tears   
starting to spill over, before opening the door and stepping into   
the darkened room. He sat, half-dressed, in a chair, and had   
turned away from the empty window to watch as she quietly   
crossed the room.   
  
Only when she reached his side did she stop, vision too blurred   
by tears and darkness to see his face, unsure of what she should   
do. Rhett made the decision for her, finally moving to reach out   
and draw her down onto his lap, cradling her as he had after her   
nightmares. Her arms embraced him, clinging to him as her tears   
soaked through his half-buttoned shirt.  
  
After a few moments, relaxing under the feel of his hands   
stroking her back and smoothing her hair, Scarlett composed   
herself. Raising her head, she did something she couldn’t   
remember the last time she’d done. She kissed him on the   
cheek.  
  
In doing so, her momentary surprise at her own action was   
quickly overshadowed by the salty taste of his dried tears. "You   
were crying," she whispered.  
  
"Yes," he said thickly, not willing to meet her eyes, even in the   
dark room.  
  
"We’ve lost a lot this year." Her embrace tightened as she tried   
to provide him with some of the comfort she always found when   
he strong arms surrounded her.  
  
"Maybe too much." He didn’t return her embrace, but allowed   
his hands to remain steady on her back, unmoving, waiting to see   
where this dangerous conversation was headed.  
  
"No," she replied emphatically, sitting up, her hands firmly   
clasping his shoulders. "I thought I’d lost too much once, just   
after the war. I’m not proud of how I managed to get by, but I   
did. We can now."  
  
He finally met her eyes, glittering darkly in the faint light coming   
through the window. "You came to me for help then, too, and I   
couldn’t provide it. I don’t know if I can now."  
  
"But you believed I would be all right then, didn’t you? Even   
without your help…looking back, I don’t think even then you’d   
have really let my family be turned out of our home." There was   
a tone of revelation in her voice, as if she was just realizing it for   
the first time herself.  
  
"No, I checked on you as soon as I was released."  
  
"Maybe I just needed that little assurance, knowing you were   
there to fall back on, but believing I could get by on my own.   
Though I don’t know now that I went about it in the best way   
possible…"  
  
"So we’re to cast one another to the wolves and hope for the   
best, then?" Rhett’s tone was once more hard and bitter.  
  
"Heavens, no, Rhett! That’s not what I meant at all! What I   
mean is that maybe it’s just enough to believe that we can get by,   
to believe in each other’s ability to come through this."  
  
"That’s an awful lot of blind faith for two business people such   
as ourselves to accept, my pet." The hard tone remained in his   
voice, but it was tempered by a hint of wry amusement.  
  
Scarlett, momentarily flustered, toyed with the collar of his shirt.   
"But when have either of us ever failed at something we set our   
minds to? Some of the things I’ve done haven’t been the best,   
but I’ve made up my mind and done them and been damned with   
the consequences." Warily, one finger found its way inside his   
shirt, and she traced a faint, ridged scar across his pectorals.   
"You’ve succeeded against some hard odds, too."  
  
His hand covered hers, stilling her cool fingers against his warm   
skin. "Are you ready to commit to us, now? Struggling   
together, instead of against each other?"  
  
She dropped her forehead down to rest against their combined   
hands. "I can’t struggle against you anymore. I’m too tired. I   
just want it to be like when you used to wake me up from my   
nightmares and hold me and make everything fine again." There   
was more than a hint of childlike innocence in her voice, and she   
could do nothing to stop her voice from cracking at the end.  
  
"You have no idea how much I wish I could do that." His free   
hand slipped around her waist, pulling her close.  
  
"Last spring—was it just last spring?—you said we could go   
away, start over. Could we still, after Melly’s funeral?"  
  
"I can think of nothing I’d like better than a fresh start with you,   
Scarlett. Frankly, I don’t care if we decide to move away from   
here permanently."  
  
She shook her head, almost imperceptibly, against his chest.   
"Not permanently. I’ll always want to come back to Tara. And   
to visit…" she trailed off, unable to finish, to list the names of all   
those she’d lost in less than a decade.  
  
"Shh," he soothed. "I understand. We can work out the   
details later. Let’s try to get some sleep now. The sun’s not   
risen yet, and we’ve got a lot ahead of us."  
  
Rhett lifted her easily and they settled into the bed, his body   
cradling hers. Scarlett felt, for the first time in a long while, that   
things might just be fine again one day.  
  
****  
End  
****


End file.
